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Jury acquits convicted killer in 1958 slaying of police officer

ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY — A jury has acquitted a convicted murderer in the 1958 killing of a police officer, rejecting his relatives' testimony against him.

Robert Zarinsky, 60, who was acquitted Friday, had been charged with murder after his sister, Judith Sapsa, came forward more than 40 years after Officer Charles Bernoskie's killing and told authorities Zarinsky had confessed.

Sapsa testified that Zarinsky and his cousin, Theodore Schiffer, were shot by the officer, who surprised them robbing a car dealership. She said she heard Zarinsky say he shot an officer.

Schiffer pleaded guilty to murder last year and testified Zarinsky was with him.

Zarinsky has been serving a 98-year prison term since 1975 for the slaying of a New Jersey teen and is a suspect in the unsolved slayings of four women.

Zarinsky's defense said Sapsa came forward only after authorities discovered she and her husband had stolen $100,000 from Zarinsky's investment fund. Sapsa was not charged.